level of swine influenza pandemic alert raised from phase 3 to phase 4

Human cases of swine influenza A/H1N1 virus infection also have been confirmed internationally: US has reported 40, Canada has reported 6 confirmed human cases of infection; Spain has reported 1 case; Scotland has reported 2 cases. Mexico has reported 26 cases of infection, including 7 deaths.

On the advice of the Emergency Committee of the World Health Organization, the Director-General has raised the level of influenza pandemic alert from phase 3 to phase 4. The change to a higher phase of pandemic alert indicates that the likelihood of a pandemic has increased, but not that a pandemic is inevitable.

The Emergency Committee's recommendation is based on the available data on confirmed outbreaks of A/H1N1 swine influenza in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The Committee also considered reports of possible spread to additional countries.

The decision was based primarily on epidemiological data demonstrating human-to-human transmission and the ability of the virus to cause community-level outbreaks.

Given the widespread presence of the virus, the Director-General considered that containment of the outbreak is not feasible. The current focus should be on mitigation measures.

In Mexico, the suspected number of cases is reportedly as high as 1,600, and the suspected number of deaths in Mexico is up to 80. Potential new cases also have been reported in France, Hong Kong, and New Zealand. These numbers and reports are not yet confirmed.

Laboratory testing has found the swine influenza A/H1N1 virus is susceptible to the prescription antiviral drugs oseltamivir and zanamivir.

Drug Prescribing Pattern in Surgical Wards of a Teaching Hospital in North India

Drug Prescribing Pattern in Surgical Wards of a Teaching Hospital in North India

Author(s): Salman MT, Akram MF, Rahman S, Khan FA, Haseen MA, Khan SW
Indian Journal for the Practising Doctor. Vol. 5, No. 2 (2008-05 - 2008-06)

ISSN : 0973-516X
Dr MT Salman, Dr SZ Rahman and Dr FA Khan are from the Department of Pharmacology; and Dr MA Haseen and Dr SW Khan from the Department of Surgery, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India – 202002.

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Abstract
Irrational use of medicines is widespread throughout the world. The main problems include the unnecessary prescription of drugs, particularly antimicrobials and injections. To investigate the situation in surgery wards, the present study was undertaken. Ninety six prescriptions were collected prospectively from post-operative patients admitted in surgery wards of the JN Medical College Hospital, AMU, Aligarh, and subjected for analysis according to the WHO/INRUD Indicators. VEN method was also applied to ascertain quality of drug procurement. It was revealed that the proportion of drugs from Essential Medicines List (EML) was 61.4%, while no drug was prescribed by generic name. Groups of drugs most commonly prescribed by general surgeons were antibiotics (93%), analgesics (60%), antacids (43%) and antiemetics (10%). The most extensively prescribed drugs from each of the above groups were injections Ceftriaxone and Amikacin, tablets Voveron, Pantoprazole and Metoclopromide, respectively. The average number of drugs prescribed per patient and cost per day per prescription was 4.8 and 246.1 INR, respectively. Average number of antibiotics prescribed per prescription was 2.2 and the average number of injections per prescriptions was 2.3. The results showed that the pattern of drug prescribing is not based on WHO criteria for rational use of drugs. The system is not at all evidence-based. It is thus necessary to make surgeons aware about good prescribing habit by following 5 steps of the WHO Program on Rational use of Drugs (RUD).